So what happens if public trashcans regularly overflow with trash? Well, according to the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) the wasted baskets will be removed, especially if the department believes they are being used by residents to illegally dispose of household garbage.

“DSNY will remove baskets if they are being misused, or if the location no longer meets the requirements for litter basket placement,” explained a representative of the DSNY.

On Grand Avenue, several residents and business owners have watched the large metal baskets appear and disappear on dozens of corners throughout the business district.

After one can was recently removed because nearby homeowners were regularly dumping large quantities of trash, the location became a dumping ground for trash bags and litter.

“I have never in my entire life seen anything like this, ever,” said one 61-year-old resident who has lived on the block since she was a child as she passed by a heaping pile of ripped garbage bags on the street. “New people that move in, they don’t care so they throw their garbage anywhere.”

The resident chose to remain anonymous due to the fear of backlash from the neighborhood, as did local business owners who discussed the issue under the pretense that their names would be kept confidential.

“Garbage comes from the tenants who live up Grand Avenue, whose landlords don’t supply garbage cans, and they don’t wait for the weekly pickup,” one business owner said.

The shop owner explained that the same residents are dumping trash where the bin once stood, leaving them and other business owners responsible for the cleanup.

“We’re responsible to keep our area clean, and it’s impossible to keep our area clean with all this garbage,” the owner said.

DSNY acknowledged the problem on Grand Avenue, and assured they are working with their enforcement division to find new ways, “to achieve a higher rate of compliance from residents and businesses so that existing baskets are not misused.”

“We will also revisit the adopt-a-basket program in the area once again, and look for the community board to encourage its constituents who own businesses in the areas of concern to perhaps adopt a basket as well,” the representative added.